No Closer To A Good Pun For This Post…

I’m sure there ain’t a heaven, but that don’t mean I don’t like to picture you there.

This is the most feels line that I am aware of currently in existence.

I had No Closer To Heaven playing on Spotify pretty much as soon as it was released here in the United King’s States of Englandshire. It’s been out for nearly two weeks, and about one week ago, this post would have been a lot sadder and filled with my post-teen angsty disappointment.

I was so disappointed with the album after the first listen that it made me genuinely very sad. The Wonder Years are one of my favourite bands and took pop-punk to another level with their last album, The Greatest Generation.

Coming off that I expected ridiculously big things, things too big to ever realistically happen since I pretty much wanted to love it more than TGG after no time at all.

Add the fact that I was familiar with and loved three of the album’s songs before release, and everything else just seemed kind of dull.

Skipping ahead to now, and I must say it is once again a new level that TWY find themselves on. I seem to remember a while ago saying that AB/AP by Fall Out Boy had the best four track run on any album I knew. No Closer To Heaven has the best EIGHT track streak.

The run from Cardinals through to Stained Glass Ceilings is full of intensity, passion and that all important raw emotion that sets The Wonder Years apart from everyone around them.

The last couple of songs aren’t quite as impactful, but the whole thing flows nicely, the sound moving from anger through to acceptance. Call it DABDA, call it Kubler-Ross, call it a coincidence, it works.

I’m not sure yet whether it’s better than The Greatest Generation, but it’s definitely better than my initial opinion of it. And it still keeps them right up there in my list of best bands around.

I had it on repeat all day at work last week, which must have been fun for everyone that loathes my music taste as it is. But I’m happy to say that it has won me over, just took a little time.

Also I listened to Neck Deep’s new album a couple of times this week. Not comparing or anything, Life’s Not Out To Get You is a very good pop-punk record; it’s catchy it’s fun and it’s short, but listening to the both bands shows, to me anyway, how far The Wonder Years have taken the genre in another direction.